Wild School Boy Was Picked Up And Brought Home By His Professor Chapter 27

Chapter 27 Professor Shen Gets Drunk

The esteemed Professor Shen personally came to visit and even brought a gift. Under the circumstances, Lin Yi couldn’t just shut the door on him.

He still had that basic courtesy.

He scanned his fingerprint lock, then stepped aside to let Shen Beidao in. “Come in.”

This small apartment, less than eighty square meters, was bought for Lin Yi by Xie Chun when he first started university. It was located near the National Academy of Fine Arts.

Lin Yi attended classes during the day and returned home to rest in the evening, living alone for the past two years.

Shen Beidao stood at the entrance, his gaze first sweeping over the entryway.

The shoe rack was neat and tidy. Aside from a few pairs of sneakers Lin Yi frequently wore, there were no extra men’s slippers, which at least proved that no other man had visited the house recently.

Lin Yi dug out a brand-new pair of gray slippers from the back of the shoe cabinet and tossed them onto the floor. “Wear these yourself. They’re clean.”

Then he reached out and pulled the brown paper bag from Shen Beidao’s hand. “Thank you in advance, Professor Shen.”

The bag was still slightly warm, carrying the heat of something freshly baked.

Lin Yi walked further inside while unwrapping it, casually asking, “Did you make these yourself? You know how to bake cookies?”

Shen Beidao changed his shoes behind him, his eyes continuing to scan the living room, which was an open-plan space, kept exceptionally tidy.

The throw pillows on the sofa were lined up like standing soldiers. The coffee table held nothing but a remote control and a potted green plant.

A few brightly colored oil paintings hung on the wall, all in a unified warm palette.

For a man living alone to keep his home this clean, he probably had some degree of mysophobia.

“I followed a food blogger’s video.” Shen Beidao followed him in. “Try one.”

The paper bag was fully opened, and a familiar yet strange smell wafted out.

It wasn’t the milky scent of dessert or the common aroma of butter, but a peculiar, odd smell.

Lin Yi paused, looking suspiciously into the bag.

Inside were neatly stacked square cookies, each dotted with small red specks that, at first glance, looked like strawberry jam or dried cranberries.

Lin Yi took one out and tentatively took a bite. “Is this strawberry jam on top?”

The taste was also strange—salty, and a little spicy?

“It’s Mala Tang flavor. How is it? Is it good?”

Lin Yi’s chewing motion visibly stuttered. “…Mala Tang flavored cookies?”

He looked down at the cookie in his hand, which he had taken a small bite out of, his expression complex.

“I saw you really enjoyed Mala Tang last time, and you ate quite a bit, so I guessed you liked it.”

Shen Beidao looked at him. “I spent four hours trying to get it right… Hmm? Is it not good?”

Lin Yi’s taste buds were undergoing an unprecedented assault!

Sweet, salty, spicy, and numbing, combined with the crisp texture of the cookie itself, blended into an indescribably complex flavor.

“It’s not that…” Lin Yi only chewed, not swallowing. “My cold isn’t gone yet, and my throat still hurts. I can’t eat spicy food right now.”

Hearing this, Shen Beidao rummaged through the bag and pulled out another smooth-surfaced cookie. “This one is made with original bone broth ingredients. It’s not spicy. Want to try this?”

“No, no need.” Lin Yi quickly shook his head and put down the cookie. “My throat is dry. I want some water now.”

He walked toward the kitchen, spat everything out, poured himself a glass of warm water, and leaned against the counter, sipping slowly to calm his esophagus, which had been assaulted by that bite of cookie.

Shen Beidao spent four hours just to make these bizarre-tasting waste cookies?

He felt like laughing, but also didn’t have the heart to dampen the other man’s enthusiasm.

He looked up at Shen Beidao, who was standing in the center of the living room.

The man had taken off his trench coat, revealing a simple white shirt underneath, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing his smoothly defined forearms.

He just stood there, tall and straight, with a serious expression, completely unlike someone who had just created a culinary abomination.

Lin Yi sighed internally.

The deception was one thing, but this clumsy gesture of goodwill shouldn’t be ignored.

However, Lin Yi didn’t plan on keeping Shen Beidao for long.

If a deceiver was forgiven so easily, the cost of deception would be too low.

Lin Yi, being a man of principle, wouldn’t indulge this bad habit of his.

So he turned on the TV, tuned it to CCTV-1, and placed the remote on the coffee table. “Watch some TV for a while. I have something to do.”

Once he watched for about an hour, around six o’clock, he could find an excuse to “send him off.”

After saying that, he went into the bedroom, intending to change into more comfortable loungewear.

The sound of the TV drifted from the living room: “Spring is here, everything is recovering, and it’s the season for animals to reproduce. The air is filled with the scent of hormones…”

“…In the nearby bushes, the lionesses are responding to this call of life in their unique way. They become somewhat restless, rubbing against tree trunks or repeatedly rolling on the ground, leaving behind their unique scent, all for the continuation of the species…”

Lin Yi came out of the bedroom in his pajamas and saw Shen Beidao sitting upright on the sofa, seriously watching the TV screen.

On the screen, two male lions were engaging in the most primal act of reproduction on the savanna.

Lin Yi: …………

Wait, had CCTV regressed? Were they still broadcasting the classic version of Animal World these days?

His gaze uncontrollably fell on the two intertwined lions, then quickly moved away.

Somehow, his cheeks started to feel hot, and his throat felt dry.

He also thought of the excellent fortune stick he had drawn at Taoguang Temple today…

Could it be… Shen Beidao was not only his destined partner but also held a certain physiological attraction for him?

“Shen…”

Just then, Shen Beidao suddenly stood up and answered a phone call. He didn’t avoid Lin Yi; instead, he turned to face him, subtly looking him up and down while replying to the person on the phone, “Seven tonight? …Yes. I have time.”

He glanced at his wristwatch. “It will take me about half an hour to drive there. Is it the same restaurant as before? …Okay… See you soon.”

“Something came up?” When Lin Yi’s hot throat produced sound, it felt strangely swollen.

“Yes, I need to go over a project with the person in charge. I have a dinner engagement soon, and since the Dean will be there, I have to go.” Shen Beidao said, picking up the trench coat draped over the sofa.

Lin Yi nodded, his voice still a little hoarse from the cold. “Go ahead. I’m used to being alone at home.”

As soon as he said that, it sounded like a virtuous wife left alone, harboring resentment but pretending to be understanding and reasonable.

Lin Yi also found the statement strange, so he added, “You should hurry and leave. I prefer the peace and quiet alone.”

Shen Beidao didn’t turn to leave. He approached Lin Yi step by step, and just as Lin Yi prepared to dodge, he wrapped his arm around his waist, a smile in his voice. “You wore a mask when you went out today. That’s very good, and you deserve praise. Keep it up next time you go out, okay?”

Warm breath brushed against his earlobe, and Lin Yi’s ear tips instantly turned red.

“…Who asked for your praise?”

He tried to push Shen Beidao away, but the hand didn’t budge. “This is basic public morality, okay? Wearing a mask when you have a cold so you don’t infect others—even elementary school students know that!”

“So, a child with full marks in public morality?” Shen Beidao chuckled softly. “Then you deserve even more praise.”

“I told you I’m not a child!” Lin Yi struggled out of his arm and took a step back, looking genuinely annoyed. “If you keep calling me that, I won’t wear a mask when I go out tomorrow!”

Shen Beidao was amused by his small reaction.

He approached again, this time only reaching out a finger to gently touch Lin Yi’s warm earlobe. “Alright, then can I call you Yi Yi from now on? Or… Haschen?”

“What does that mean?”

“You’ll find out the next time we meet.”

…

10:55 PM.

Lin Yi was about to turn off the light and go to sleep when his phone vibrated several times, displaying a message from Li Rui:

[Photo.jpg]

The photo was clearly taken secretly, the angle was tilted, and the quality wasn’t sharp, but the main figures were recognizable:

Shen Beidao was sitting at a round table in a restaurant private room, with Fang Yu sitting next to him.

“What the hell is going on?” Lin Yi noted that only a few people were eating, and only Fang Yu was closest to Shen Beidao.

Lin Yi stared at the photo for a full ten seconds.

Then he threw off the covers and got out of bed barefoot.

Lin Yi grabbed a jacket, haphazardly threw it on, and hailed a taxi while putting on his shoes, looking as if he were going to “catch a cheating spouse.”

At the same time, inside a black Mercedes SUV.

Shen Beidao leaned against the passenger seat, eyes closed, brows slightly furrowed. The car was filled with a faint smell of alcohol.

“I’m glad I brought you along,” his voice sounded tired. “I really didn’t expect that foreigner to drink so much… Drive, take me home.”

In the driver’s seat, Li Rui gripped the steering wheel. He glanced at Shen Beidao, looking like he wanted to speak but hesitated.

After driving for a while, while waiting at a red light, Li Rui finally spoke. “Professor Shen… I don’t want to be the project assistant anymore. Could you find another student next time?”

Shen Beidao didn’t open his eyes, just sighed softly. “No.”

“Why?” Li Rui’s voice was anxious. “I really don’t want to do it anymore…”

“Because you have the best grades and are smarter than the others.”

Shen Beidao slightly opened his eyes and turned his head to look at him. “Don’t worry, you’ll be paid what you’re owed.”

“But!!” Li Rui wanted to argue.

Shen Beidao interrupted him, his voice calm. “All your thoughts are written on your forehead.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve had a crush for many years and chose not to say anything, afraid of losing the friendship. Am I wrong?”

Li Rui’s lips trembled, his face turning even paler under the faint light of the dashboard. He opened his mouth but said nothing.

Shen Beidao closed his eyes. “Since you value friendship more, you should honestly swallow your restless thoughts.”

He paused, then added, “You are still young, and the world outside is rich and colorful. You should go see more of it, instead of letting a precious friendship affect your future.”

“Think about it carefully… Until you figure things out, I’ll pretend you said nothing today.”

At that moment, the streetlights turned green, and the car slowly started moving.

Li Rui glanced at Shen Beidao, who was resting with his eyes closed beside him, a complex emotion surging in his heart.

There was the shame of being seen through, and also a complete understanding of why his past self admired this mentor so much.

But when did Shen Beidao find out?

When Li Rui parked the car downstairs at Shen Beidao’s apartment building, it was almost 11:30 PM.

He unbuckled his seatbelt, intending to help Shen Beidao out of the passenger seat.

He indeed looked quite drunk, stumbling slightly as he got out of the car.

“No need.” Shen Beidao pushed him away, his voice still relatively clear. “You go back. Expense the taxi fare to me tomorrow.”

“Professor Shen, maybe I should help you up? You look drunk…”

Shen Beidao waved him off, taking the car keys from his hand, thinking: I have a little rabbit with mysophobia living in my house. If a stranger went inside, I’m afraid it would be discovered.

His steps were unsteady, but he walked relatively stably, not quite to the point of actually falling.

Shen Beidao smiled bitterly to himself. He really had drunk too much today.

The German partner, who knows where he learned it, insisted on following Chinese drinking culture—baijiu, beer, and foreign liquor, one after the other…

This project was spearheaded by the Dean and was highly beneficial to the school. Shen Beidao couldn’t afford to offend the Dean, so he had to endure it.

He only managed to escape after the foreigner was happy and was helped away by his assistant.

Fang Yu had originally wanted to send him home, but fortunately, he had called Li Rui in advance, giving him an excuse to refuse.

Shen Beidao forced himself to return home, mistyping the password three times before finally opening the door.

“Click.”

The indoor lights automatically turned on before he could press the switch.

He looked up and saw Lin Yi standing there, arms crossed, wearing a panda-themed cartoon pajama set, staring at him expressionlessly.

Shen Beidao blinked.

It seemed he really was drunk.

Otherwise, why would Lin Yi be in his house?

This must be a beautiful dream.

He stumbled toward Lin Yi, one step at a time. As he got close, he finally couldn’t hold himself up and collapsed forward.

Lin Yi had never endured such force before. He was knocked back three steps in a row before stabilizing himself with his core strength.

He smelled a strong scent of alcohol, and a faint, almost imperceptible hint of perfume?

“Shen Beidao, were you out messing around—”

He didn’t finish his sentence.

The kiss came before the explanation.

Shen Beidao lowered his head and accurately sealed his lips with a hot, alcohol-laced, undeniable kiss.

———————–

Author’s Note: Haschen: Little rabbit.